The Letters K, C, and Q The /k/ sound can be produced in Spanish by the letters k and c and the letter combination qu. Learning to differentiate the positions in which each of these letters appears in Spanish can help you properly write words, which may be spelled differently in English.

The Letter K The letter k produces a /k/ sound. Words spelled with the letter k are typically words imported into Spanish from other languages. Traditionally, these words were mainly from Greek, however, now there are tremendous influences from other languages. kayak, karate, kilómetro, kimono, kindergarten

The Letter C the /k/ sound: The letter c produces the /k/ sound when followed by an a, o, or u. alcance, cama, cosa, cumbre, descansar, decoración, matrícula the /s/ sound: The letter c produces the /s/ sound when followed by an e or an i. almacén, cena, cine, décimo, incidente Exception: In Spain, the c in these letter combinations is pronounced as a /th/ sound, similar to the th in think.

The Letter Q The /k/ sound is also represented by the letter combination qu, which is always followed by e or i. In these words the u is silent. mantequilla, parque, que, queso, quien, química Note: The /kw/ sound in English q- words like quarter, question, and quote is represented in Spanish by cu + vowel. acuesta, cuando, cuidado, cuota, ecuatoriano, escuela

Pitfalls: Verbs Ending in -CAR Verbs that end in –car (such as sacar) have spelling changes for certain conjugations: the yo form of the preterite tense saqué all the present subjunctive forms saque, saques, saque, saquemos, saquéis, saquen the Ud. and Uds. command forms saque Ud. saquen Uds.

Práctica A Complete each word with the missing letter: k, c, or q. 1. __indergarten 2. enfo__ue 3. __antidad 4. delin__uente 5. __oronación 6. fre__uente 7. __ualidades 8. re__uisito 9. __ilogramo 10. in__uilino

ANSWERS Práctica A 1. kindergarten 2. enfoque 3. cantidad 4. delincuente 5. coronación 6. frecuente 7. cualidades 8. requisito 9. kilogramo 10. inquilino

Práctica B Complete the word in each sentence with the correct missing letter(s): c, cu, k, or qu. 1. Nos preparó una cena ex__isita. 2. Los participantes tuvieron que llenar un __estionario para el experimento. 3. No te olvides de llevar la ra__eta para el torneo de tenis. 4. Van a jugar con el e__ipo nacional. 5. En España compro la carne por __ilos. 6. No es __estión de dinero, sino de dignidad. 7. Se re__iere mucho esfuerzo para triunfar. 8. Es necesario que sa__es la basura esta noche. 9. Su hermana es cinta negra en __arate. 10. Le regaló un a__ario a su hijo por sa__ar buenas notas.

ANSWERS Práctica B 1. exquisita 2. cuestionario 3. raqueta 4. equipo 5. kilos 6. cuestión 7. requiere 8. saques 9. karate 10. acuario, sacar